Saturday, October 16, 2010

Shootout At Fan Duel Corral

Last night was a promo contest at Fan Duel. A hockey cap contest with unlimited $10 entries and a $755 prize pool.

I decided to take 10 stabs at it, figuring my chances were better than most.

I was kind of pissed when it wouldn't let add more than one entry. There were only about 50 entries total, and I figured most decent players would lay off once the overlay was eliminated.

Support said they would fix the glitch and multiple entries were allow with 3 hours to go. I put in my 10 rosters even though there was an UNDERLAY (meaning more entry fees than prize money).

I chose 5 goalies I thought would perform and put 2 different rosters with each goalie choice. 3 of my goalies won and 2 lost. Probably no coincidence that my 5 of my 6 entries with winning goalies cashed.

As I filled out my 10 rosters, two things popped into my head: 1) It would take 60 points to win 1st, and 2) I need at least ONE roster with Sidney Crosby.

So my last roster edit, I added Sid the kid to the team.

The combination of a Crosby hat trick, my goalie winning, and my obvious value pick David Booth putting up 2 G, 1 A was enough to give me the 60+ points for first.

What was more surprising - I had 4 more rosters finish in the top 10 for 5 total cashes:

None of those secondary cashes had Crosby.

I'm sure I rubbed a lot of players the wrong way by putting in multiple entries. But they had the right to do the same. I know one other player had at least 4 entries.

Now Fan Duel gets some things right and gets some things wrong. I am tough on them because I think it is the best place to play daily fantasy. They are the only site really growing right now, and they need to listen to their regulars to ease the growing pains. It will pay off in the long run.

While this was a great win promotion wise, I've had much better nights (profit wise). This isn't even close to my best money night.

But I hope this showcases the skill involved in daily fantasy. As I've said all along, it really is a game of skill.